Saturday, 19 October 2019

Piano Red born 19 October 1911


William "Willie" Lee Perryman (October 19, 1911 - July 25, 1985), who was usually known professionally as Piano Red and later in life as Dr. Feelgood, was an American blues musician, the first to hit the pop music charts. He was a self-taught pianist who played in the barrelhouse blues style. His simple, hard-pounding left hand and his percussive right hand, coupled with his cheerful shout brought him considerable success over three decades.

Perryman was born on a farm near Hampton, Georgia, where his parents, Ada and Henry Perryman, were sharecroppers. Perryman was an albino African American, as was his older brother Rufus, who also had a blues piano career as "Speckled Red".  When Perryman was six years old, his father gave up farming and moved the family to Atlanta, where he worked in a factory. Not much is known about Perryman's education or early life, but he recalled that his mother bought a piano for her two albino sons. Both brothers had very poor vision, an effect of their albinism, so neither took formal music lessons, but they developed their barrelhouse style through playing by ear.

Perryman sometimes recalled imitating Rufus's style after watching him play, but it is doubtful that his brother was a major influence. Rufus, nineteen years older than Perryman, left Georgia in 1925 and did not return until a 1960 visit. Another influence that Perryman cited in interviews was Fats Waller, whose records his mother brought home. Other influences were likely the local blues pianists playing at "house" or "rent" parties, which were common community fund-raisers of that era.

 By the early 1930s, he was playing at house parties, juke joints, and barrelhouses in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, often working with other Georgia bluesmen, including Barbecue Bob, Curley Weaver, and Blind Willie McTell. He also began performing before white audiences in the resort town of Brevard, North Carolina, and by 1934 had begun to play at white clubs in Atlanta, developing a repertoire of pop standards. Around 1936 he began to be billed as "Piano Red", and made his first recordings with McTell in Augusta for Vocalion Records, although these were never released. He also began working as an upholsterer, a trade which he occasionally maintained through later years.


                             

In 1950 after spending the last 14 years upholstering and playing music on weekends, Red recorded "Rockin' with Red" and "Red's Boogie" at the WGST radio studios in Atlanta for RCA Victor. Both songs became national hits, reaching # 5 and # 3 respectively on the Billboard R&B chart, and "Rockin' with Red" has since been covered many times under many titles. 


This success, and further hits "The Wrong Yo Yo" (allegedly written by Speckled Red), "Laying The Boogie" and "Just Right Bounce", allowed him to resume an active performing schedule. He also recorded sessions in New York and Nashville during the early 1950s.

In the mid 1950s he also worked as a disc jockey on radio stations WGST and WAOK in Atlanta, broadcasting The Piano Red Show, later The Dr. Feelgood Show, directly from a small shack in his back yard. A young James Brown made an appearance on his show in the late 1950s. His involvement had him appearing on a flatbed truck in many parades, which led to his song "Peachtree Parade". From the mid 1950s until the late 1960s, he recorded for several companies, including Columbia, for which he made several records, Checker, 
for whom he recorded 8 sides with Willie Dixon on bass, and Groove Records,a subsidiary of RCA Victor, producing the first hit for that label.

On Okeh Records, in 1961, he began using the name Dr. Feelgood and the Interns, releasing several hits, including the much-covered "Doctor Feel-Good". The persona was one he had initially adopted on his radio shows. The new career was short-lived, though, and Piano Red was never able to regain his former stature. In 1966, the popular folk-rock group The Lovin' Spoonful, recorded his song "Bald Headed Lena" on their second album, Daydream.


He continued to be a popular performer in Underground Atlanta, and had several European tours late in his career, including appearances at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's inauguration, and on BBC Radio.

He was diagnosed with cancer in 1984 and died the following year at DeKalb General Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia. Among those who attended his funeral were the Governor of Georgia and the Mayor of Atlanta.

(Edited fromo Wikipedia)


8 comments:

Mike Bass said...

file not found

Dusty said...

Arhoolie F 1064 Piano Red ‎– Dr. Feelgood All Alone With His Piano

http://www.filefactory.com/file/q7a7vts1yq7/Arhoolie%20%20F%20%201064%20%20Piano%20Red%20%E2%80%8E%E2%80%93%20Dr.%20Feelgood%20All%20Alone%20With%20His%20Piano%20%20NY%20%20.rar


A1 Whiskey Man A.K.A. Ten-Cent Shot
A2 Push That Thing
A3 Atlanta Bounce
A3 Piano Red - Atlanta Bounce
A4 Everyday I Have The Blues
A5 Corrina, Corrina
B1 You Ain't Got A Chance
B2 My Baby Left Me
B3 Let's Get It On
B4 Red's Boogie piano red
B5 Rockin' With Red piano red
B6 ( Right String Baby, But) The Wrong Yo Yo




Bear Family BCD 16639 Piano Red / Rock

http://www.filefactory.com/file/3n5shj5e56jr/BCD%20%2016639%20%20%20Piano%20Red%20%20%20rock%20%20%20-%20Cover.rar

01 - Piano Red - Rockin' with Red
02 - Piano Red - Jumoin' The Boogie
03 - Piano Red - Red's Boogie
04 - Piano Red - Right String But The Wrong Yo Yo
05 - Piano Red - Diggin' The Boogie
06 - Piano Red - Layin' The Boogie
07 - Piano Red - the Sales Tax Boogie
08 - Piano Red - She Walks Right In
09 - Piano Red - She's Dynamite
10 - Piano Red - Everbody's Boogie
11 - Piano Red - Decatur Strret Boogie
12 - Piano Red - She Knocks me Out
13 - Piano Red - Chitlin' Hop
14 - Piano Red - I Ain't Fattenin' Frogs For Snakes
15 - Piano Red - Big Rock Joe From Kokomo
16 - Piano Red - Jump Man Jump
17 - Piano Red - Woo-Ee
18 - Piano Red - Rock Bby
19 - Piano Red - Wild Fire
20 - Piano Red - Rock and Roll Boogie
21 - Piano Red - Boogie Re-Bop
22 - Piano Red - I've Been Rockin
23 - Piano Red - Doctor Feel-Good
24 - Piano Red - I Ain't Gonna Be A Lowdown Dog No More
25 - Piano Red - What's Up Doc
26 - Piano Red - Bald-Headed Lena
27 - Piano Red - Blang Dong
28 - Piano Red - I'm Gonna Rock Some More
29 - Piano Red - Jumping The Boogie aka Jump
30 - Piano Red - The Double Twist
31 - Piano Red - I Need You
32 - Piano Red - Can't Wait No Longer
33 - Piano Red - Rock me aka Rock Rock Rock
Piano Red - Cover

Larry said...

The Pixeldrain link seems inoperative. Thanks for a wonderful blog.

boppinbob said...

OOps sorry to Mike & larry for the goof on the link, my cut and paste is not like it used to be!! Noe link works.......I tested it.
And a very big thank you to fellow blogger Jake for the extra links. Wonderful

SO for “Piano Red aka Dr. Feelgood & The Interns - Rockin’ With Red
- Singles A's & B's 1950-1962” go here:

https://pixeldrain.com/u/iQCf03NM

Disc 1

PIANO RED
1. ROCKIN' WITH RED
2. RED'S BOOGIE
3. THE WRONG YOYO
4. MY GAL JO
5. LET'S HAVE A GOODTIME TONIGHT
6. DIGGIN' THE BOOGIE
7. IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE NOW
8. HEY GOOD LOOKIN'
9. JUST RIGHT BOUNCE
10. JUMPIN' THE BOOGIE
11. LAYIN' THE BOOGIE
12. BABY WHAT'S WRONG
13. BOUNCIN' WITH RED
14. COUNT THE DAYS I'M GONE
15. THE SALES TAX BOOGIE
16. SHE WALKS RIGHT IN
17. VOO DOOPEE DOO
18. DAYBREAK
19. I'M GONNA ROCK SOME MORE
20. EVERYBODY'S BOOGIE
21. YOUR MOUTH'S GOT A HOLE IN IT
22. DECATUR STREET BOOGIE
23. RIGHT AND READY
24. TAXI, TAXI, 6963
25. SHE KNOCKS ME OUT
26. CHITLIN' HOP
27. BIG ROCK JOE FROM KOKOMO
28. DECATUR STREET BLUES
29. JUMP MAN JUMP
30. PAY IT NO MIND

Disc 2

1. SIX O'CLOCK BOUNCE
2. GOODBYE
3. RED'S BLUES
4. GORDY'S ROCK
5. SHE KNOCKS ME OUT
6. JUMPIN WITH DADDY
7. YOU WERE MINE FOR AWHILE
8. WOO-EE
9. ROCK, BABY
10. WILD FIRE
11. PLEASE DON'T TALK ABOUT ME WHEN I'M GONE
12. PEACHTREE PARADE
13. COO CHA
14. SOUTH
15. ONE GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN
16. COMIN' ON
17. GET UP MARE
18. SO WORRIED
PIANO RED AND THE METER-TONES
19. THIS OLD WORLD
20. I FEEL GOOD
21. TALK TO ME
22. BELIEVE IN ME
23. GUITAR WALK
24. I'VE BEEN ROCKIN'
25. ROCKIN' WITH RED
26. SO SHOOK UP
DR FEELGOOD AND THE INTERNS
27. DOCTOR FEEL-GOOD
28. MISTER MOONLIGHT
29. RIGHT STRING BUT THE WRONG YO-YO
30. WHAT'S UP, DOC
31. THE SAME OLD THINGS KEEP HAPPENING
32. LET'S HAVE A GOOD TIME TONIGHT

Jasmine Notes - 62 tracks across 2CDs from arguably the greatest bar band of them all - Dr. Feelgood & The Interns or just plain Piano Red as he was originally known. Presented here are all of the singles, both sides, he released just as you would have found them on any jukebox from 1950 to 1962.

Piano Red was a true original and of course another performer with a claim over 'the first rock and roll record' with his debut double sided smash 'Rockin' With Red' / 'Red's Boogie', many years before Bill Haley hit the scene. This excellent set also features his 1962 hit, 'Doctor Feel-Good' which became a staple cover for scores of British beat groups.

Resident in Atlanta for most of his life these rocking tracks made him one of the city's major tourist attractions for decades.

A very big thank you to Les @ loadsamusics forum for all but two of the above tracks. Amazon digital only give 60 tracks instead of 62. I managed to find one missing track which I’ve numbered 34b.

What’s missing is Disc2-25: the extra Rockin’ with Red track.

boppinbob said...

Found this post too

For “Piano Red - Atlanta Bounce” go here:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/2rqzkywqu77crve/Piano_Red_-_Atlanta_Bounce.rar/file

1. Atlanta Bounce
2. Ten Cent Shot
3. Pushing That Thing
4. Red's How Long Blues
5. Corrine, Corrina
6. You Ain't Got A Chance
7. My Baby Left Me
8. Let's Get It On!
9. Got You On My Mind
10. Boogie Time
11. Blues, Blues, Blues
12. Please, Baby, Come On Home
13. Telephone Blues
14. Do She Love Me
15. Right String But The Wrong Yo-Yo
16. Right String But The Wrong Yo-Yo (live)
17. Don't Get Around Much Anymore (live)
18. Umph-Umph-Umph (live)
19. Got You On My Mind (live)
20. Rockin' With Red (live)
21. Red's Boogie

FLAC quality

A big thanks to Mike1985 @ Jazz’n’Blues Club for original link

Larry said...

Thanks for the Quick Fix!

Piano Red ROCKS!!!!!!

LARRY BAUMHOR said...

Thanks to all involved, Piano Red's an old favorite of mine. Had to hear 'You Were Mine for A While'.

The Magnificent Goldberg said...

Thanks a lot Bob. I have the LP of "Alone with his Piano", but those extra Strachwitz tracks I never knew about. Been a fan since '61!

MG